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Wow do I like the way that the Uncle Sam doll turned out. He is 26 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches across at the base. He came together with lots of changes along the way. I guess that is why I cannot draw and sell patterns unless I hook them first.

I didn't know that he would be one half red and the other half blue when I started. I thought he would have a red and white striped hat and that his pants would be a red and white checkerboard. His coat was going to be blue.

But that is not what happened once I started hooking him. Like all my mats and dolls, he took on a life of his own and communicated how he wanted to look. He wanted a flipped up collar, so that went in as I hooked. He is half red and half blue with stripes on his right side and stars on his left. And his shoes, they had to have star buckles.

He also wanted real hair, so after everything was hooked, I took some leftover roving I had and prodded it lightly into his hairline and beard.

And most surprising of all is his back. I took the leftover strips of wool and sewed them together in a stripe formation. Then I cut the back and bottom out and hand bound it onto the edge of the mat, all the way around. With this method, there is no need to turn the doll inside out, or fight with burlap showing through at the edges (I hate that!).

I have him standing prominently on my fireplace mantel. He is my only Fourth of July decoration. Guess this makes an excuse to go out and get a few other things. Maybe a tiny flag to put in his hand?